Bills’ Sean McDermott, players comment on officiating during loss to Eagles

#Bills’ Sean McDermott, players comment on officiating during loss to #Eagles:

The Bills lost a rainy game to the Eagles 37-34 on Sunday, one that had a ripple effect on their season as they are on the outside looking in regarding the NFL playoff picture.

The Bills have their fair share of responsibility for the loss, as their offense, defense and special teams had moments that could have led to a win.

The officiating was poor as well.

Officials failed to call multiple flagrant penalties on Philadelphia, including blindside and defenseless hits on WR1 Stefon Diggs and TE Dalton Kincaid.

When asked about the issues with the officials, head coach Sean McDermott played it safe rather than cost his team and stir the ire of the league.

“I’m not going to go there,” the coach responded.

The Bills had 11 flags for 80 total yards, 10 of which were in the first half alone, costing them 75 yards. Six of the penalties were in the first quarter (the most this season.)

During McDermott’s tenure, penalties have been an issue that he’s sought to address. Nonetheless, some of the calls ranged from head-scratching to outrageous among media and fans alike.

Regardless, McDermott is focused on where his team could have won the game, rather than any shoddy officiating.

“I’m not going to get into how many we had, how many they had, or whether the calls were there or not,” McDermott added. “At the end of the day, you got to take the officials out of it, is what you got to do with your level of play.”

Still, there was something strange about the officiating in the contest with referee Shawn Hochuli and his crew of Tim Podraza, Rich Martinez, Chad Hill, Terry Killens Jr., Patrick Holt and Jason Ledet.

The crew penalized QB Josh Allen in the second quarter for intentional grounding while he was getting rid of the ball after Eagles LB Haason Reddick pulled him to the ground via a blatant horse-collar tackle in front of the referee.

Allen attempted to make a heads-up play with a throw in Gabe Davis’ direction while his jersey was being torn from Reddick’s horse-collar tackle.

“The hit on Josh Allen, we felt that the force was from the front of the collar, and what pulled him down was not from the back. So, that’s pretty much it. We felt that he was pulled down from the front of the jersey and the collar,” Hochuli said in the postgame pool report.

He also stated that Allen was “responsible for where the ball goes given that he started his throwing motion after he was contacted, so we didn’t feel like the ball was in the vicinity or the area of an eligible receiver.”

McDermott had a different take.

“From the information that I got, Gabe was in the area,” he noted.

Another such instance was a pass interference non-call on a throw intended for WR Trent Sherfield. Eagles cornerback Darius Slay tackled Sherfield before the ball got to him.

“On that play from the view and the angle of the official, we just didn’t feel that it significantly hindered the receiver’s ability to catch the ball,” Hochuli said.

When the Bills had a second-and-3 from their 39-yard line with a three-point lead in overtime, LB Tyrel Dodson knocked a pass loose from Eagles WR A.J. Brown as he tried to bring it in. Buffalo recovered the ball, and that would have ended the game.

The officiating crew ruled the pass incomplete, and the ball was snapped fast so NFL video replay officials couldn’t review it.

Perhaps Hochuli and his team were not paying attention, or perhaps they didn’t see what the 69,879 in attendance at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly witnessed or what thousands watching the game broadcast saw.

Or perhaps there’s a pattern of questionable performance.

 

“A lot. A lot. A lot,” said Poyer per Tim Graham of The Athletic. “It seems like it’s been like that all season. Nothing’s being done about it. Officials aren’t being held accountable for their calls or no-calls. Players are getting fined during the week for silly stuff.

“It doesn’t seem like, I don’t know … it’s not an excuse, but it’s just the way the game is being played this year. Doesn’t seem like a whole lot of accountability for the officials.”

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